Opinion

Surging Potato Prices in South Africa

Fresh Common Potato
Vegetables
South Africa
Market & Price Trends
Potato prices in South Africa - the largest potato producing and exporting country - have surged over 20% over the past week due to a low supply. The price of one 10 kg bag is currently 40% more than the same period the previous year as the main Important potato-producing regions were affected by frost damage and rains during a critical planting season. The uncertain weather conditions have weighed on production and reduced the quantity and quality of this year’s potato harvest.

Potato production in South Africa is concentrated in the highlands of the Mpumalanga and Free State Provinces, where potatoes are grown without supplementary irrigation. In 2020, potatoes were planted across 51,000 hectares in South Africa with an annual production of 2.6 million tonnes. About 20% of the total potato crop in South Africa is annually utilized for processing while the remainder is consumed and exported in the fresh form. Although the overall potato industry in South Africa has grown in the last few years, the rate of growth has slowed down tremendously due to rising climate, shortage of heat resistant potato seeds resulting in an overall shortage of high-quality potatoes.

Heavy and unexpected rains during the planting season of potatoes have pushed down the volume of potato harvests this year. The potato harvests are much lower in the East and West Free State and some regions of the Northern Cape. These areas witnessed roughly 17.71% more rainfall than the average rainfall recorded resulting in flooding of the potato plantations. Furthermore, Limpopo - which is also one of the leading potato-producing regions of South Africa continues to suffer the aftermath of frost damage. Even though the frost took place at the end of July 2021, the intensity of frost was severe enough to disturb the prices of potatoes in the domestic market.

Potato prices in South Africa have gone up more than 40% in the last year. The prices increased from USD 2.04 per 10 kgs bags in September 2020 to USD 3.04 per 10 kg bags this year. Within the last one week, the prices have surged up by 20% due to a low supply. The volume of potatoes delivered to markets by farmers has also decreased by 14% due to limited harvest volume. The low domestic supply and growing prices are expected to pull down South Africa’s potato export volumes this year. South African potato producers have been facing challenges since last year due to COVID-19, a cost-price squeeze, rising input costs. To top it all, the recent civil unrest in parts of the country has disrupted the market dynamics.


Source: Tridge. Price Data.

Sources

By clicking “Accept Cookies,” I agree to provide cookies for statistical and personalized preference purposes. To learn more about our cookies, please read our Privacy Policy.